Prayers for the First Hundred Days

This blog will post your prayers for issues that you would like to see addressed in President Obama's First 100 Days, although solutions may take time. To submit a prayer: email it to susanvdap@gmail.com.For more details, read the post (in the archive) called "Rules of Engagement."Please invite your congregation and friends to participate. You may submit several prayers.Peace and all good

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

"But he was not reluctant,when he discerned the time was right,to involve himself in the affairs of his neighbors,and attend to their salvation.For his safest haven was prayer;not prayer of a fleeting moment, empty and proud,but prayer that was prolonged,full of devotion, peaceful in humility.If he began at night,he was barely finished in the morning.Walking, sitting, eating, drinking,he was focused on prayer."

--from "The Life of Saint Francis," by Thomas of Celano, repr. fr. A Sense of the Divine

Friday, March 13, 2009

Most Gracious and Loving God,While we give thanks for this 100 days of President Obama's administration, let us not forget that we must seed an earth that will nourish us 100 years from now, when our children's children's children will have inherited the world. Let us pray for the courage to back these ventures that will give happiness to so many of our descendants in 2109:

That all nations will issue a binding protocol to observe limits on greenhouse gas emissions, so that future generations may breathe freely in a world that protects biodiversity;

That all nations, including the U.S., become signatories to the International Criminal Court, so that every leader who has committed war crimes may be prosecuted;

That the right of every worker to a living wage, and freedom to engage in collective bargaining without intimidation, may be observed in every nation, so that those who labor for their daily bread may be given adequate nourishment;

That we will join other nations in reducing significantly our stockpiles of nuclear weapons as required by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, so that all will know that the US stands for peace and disarmament;

That those who are most vulnerable because of unemployment, age, or infirmity may be protected by adequate pensions, unemployment benefits or other subsidies, so we may remember that the "least" among us should always come first;

That we will heed the Biblical injunction to "beat our swords into plowshares" by reducing the US's bloated military budget by at least 25 percent, so that a host of domestic and international needs for housing, health care, education and employment may be addressed.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Merciful God, During Lent, we ChristiansTry to see our sins clearly, to own their wrongness fully,And, finally, to shed those wrongs at the foot of Your cross.

Let those of us who live in "First World" countriesOwn not only our personal wrongdoings But the sins we fail to see because they are Perpetrated against people we don't know And hiddenIn the conveniences of our "modern" lives.

Let us see that our rich way of life is wholly dependent On the labor and poverty of workersIn less developed countries.Let us see that we have no inherent right toConsume most of the world's natural resources,Just because it's cheap to gas up our cars,Easy to run our faucets and turn on our T.V.s.

In the U.S., where we are but 5% of the world's people, We consume a third of its electricity and nearly half its gasoline.The Mexican woman who makes our jeansGets a dollar to sew ten pairs andCan't afford enough food or medicine for her children. The people who pick our produce are the poorestIn our hemisphere. To shoulder more than A thousand pounds of food every day, with an empty stomach,Is surely Hell.

Forgive us, Loving God, Our sin of luxury.Let us redefine "fasting" to mean more than a Spiritual practice of temporary denial.Let us learn to live withoutConsuming so much and End our complicity with the Oppression of our brothers and sisters around the world,Who are equally beloved by God.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our president's heart a love of your Name; increase in him true religion; nourish him with all goodness; and bring forth in him the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

I pray for forbearance, in the media and from the lawmakers, and in the stock market, and on the streets, as the new administration gets off to what is being called a rocky start.

I pray that the President, too, will not get discouraged and will be surrounded by intelligence and wisdom to guide and support him in his decisions.

I pray for the President's safety and that of his family, that they will be steered clear of danger and that God will allow them to work for their full term in this country, in our hearts and minds.

I pray for those who did not vote for Obama, that their hearts might be softened enough to see the good he can do to bring us together. To see how far we have come as a country and how much farther this means we can go, together.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Please move over the face of our cities in these days. Create order out of chaos. Comfort all who mourn and move us to create conditions for less mournful people. Provide for all in need and move us to re-order our world so that fewer people go hungry in it. Give to those who lack and minister to the souls of those who have more than they need and yet still live in fear of losing even a piece of it. Make your presence known to the lonely. Surround them, hem them in. Then inspire them and send them out.

And God of all creation, one who owns cattle on one thousand hills, one who favors the least of these -- call forth your prophets from every party, from every corner of our nation, from every branch of your church to prophesy to those making the final decisions about the economic recovery bill this week. Give our lawmakers the will to do right by the least of these! Give your people the will to let our voices be heard. Fill us with faith that those who do right by the poor will be provided for by you. Do these things for your glory, O God. Do these things and be glorified, O God. Be glorified as you demonstrate the height and breadth and depth of your love for us.

About Me

Susan is an Episcopalian active in the Diocese of New York. She is a novice in the Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis, a member of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Holy Trinity's Peace and Restorative Justice Community, and New York Faith and Justice. She is an older mom with a young special needs child and has worked as a writer, artist, and teacher. The rest of her story might be interesting or not, but it is not relevant here.